


September 1st 1999

by Luxie



Series: I Have Loved the Stars Too Fondly [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Harry Potter, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 10:40:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4703030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxie/pseuds/Luxie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The day the new Hogwarts term starts Harry goes to see Teddy and Andromeda.<br/>It’s an odd feeling, knowing that the Hogwarts Express is going to leave Kings Cross station today without him, without any of his friends on board. He thinks maybe it’s something you get used to over time, that one day he’ll look at the calender, on September 1st, and not think of going back to Hogwarts. It doesn’t seem likely, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	September 1st 1999

**Author's Note:**

> This is a teaser for my upcoming project "The Heart of Me" which I will start posting at September 14th. Make sure to Bookmark it so you won't miss the season premiere

The day the new Hogwarts term starts Harry goes to see Teddy and Andromeda.

It’s an odd feeling, knowing that the Hogwarts Express is going to leave Kings Cross station today without him, without any of his friends on board. He thinks maybe it’s something you get used to over time, that one day he’ll look at the calender, on September 1st, and _not_ think of going back to Hogwarts. It doesn’t seem likely, though.

 _At least we got one more year_ , Harry thinks. At least his last memories of the place he called home through the best years of his life, isn’t of dead friends and having to accept his own death. They got to fill the hallways with laughter again, got to sit in the Great Hall and look up at a star-clad ceiling at Halloween and the light drizzle of enchanted snow the day after New Years. They got to sit out by the lake and talk about their future and about school work and lunch. 

And they got to mend. They got to mend the school and each other, they got to mend fences that Harry thought were beyond repair. Like the barbed wire fence between him and Draco Malfoy.

“How is my nephew?” Andromeda asks, shifting Teddy to the other leg. The toddler is already getting big, big enough that Andromeda is starting to complain about being too old.

“Adjusting.” Harry says. “I think this internship is good for him. The Goblins certainly aren’t going easy on him.”

“You still think of him as your responsibility.” Andromeda says, sipping her lemonade. When Teddy squirms she lets him slide off her lap and he staggers after a butterfly. Harry takes his time looking at Teddy, but when his eyes return to Andromeda he realises that even though it wasn't intoned as a question, she's still waiting for an answer.

“He’s `The Poster-boy for the Ministry’s Redemption Plan´,” Harry says, looking down at his hands. “I’m part of the Ministry.”

“You care this much about all your Case Files?”

“Draco isn’t a Case File.” Harry objects and realises too late that he objected to the wrong part. Andromeda just smiles at him.

”I talked to your sister.” Harry says, just to change the subject. ”She talked about coming to live here?”

Andromeda blinks at him. ”That's true.” She says after a long moment. ”I didn't think she was actually considering it.”

”After Draco moved out she doesn't have much left to keep her there.” Harry says, thinking of Lucius, of the shadow of a man who never recovered. Harry might have nightmares, but Lucius never leaves his.

”I should hope not.” Andromeda says with ice in her voice and Harry is suddenly reminded just how much Andromeda resembles her sister. Not Narcissa, but Bellatrix.

”Your sister made her own choices.” Harry says. ”The wrong ones and the right ones.”

”That may be so.” Andromeda says. ”But she made the wrong ones because of her husband and the right ones because of her son. She never made a choice for herself.”

”Coming to live here, will that be for her or for you, then?” Harry asks, cautious not to make it sound too accusing, but Andromeda just gives him a surprised smile.

”Do you always bring the Auror home with you?” She asks and Harry can't help the grin that spreads across his face.

It's a beautiful day, Harry thinks as they sit and watch Teddy stagger around the garden to collect ladybirds and deposit them in a small, red wheelbarrow. He's not old enough to realize that by the time he returns with one for his collection the rest have made their escape. After half an hour he seems to get bored, though, and instead comes over to Harry, hair turning black as Harry lifts him up on his lap and Harry's chest aches. He doesn't want Teddy to look like him, to think that Harry is his father. Andromeda assures Harry that it's fine, but Harry can see the slight twinge of hurt in her eyes when she sees the two of them together, the way Teddy idolizes Harry to the point where he is using his mother's gift to look like Harry instead of Nymphedora. 

”I was thinking about getting him a Crup.” Andromeda says as she comes back with fresh lemonade.

”Isn't he a bit young for that?” Harry asks. A Crup isn't exactly the same as a fluffy Golden Retriever puppy. ”What about the cats?”

”Acorn died two days ago.” She says. She doesn't look too devastated and Harry can't really muster much emotion, either. Acorn was an old, grumpy cat that hated Harry. ”The kittens are young enough to accept a new friend. Besides,” She nods towards Teddy who has fallen asleep on Harry's lap. ”He's old enough to learn the responsibility of a pet that depends on him.”

”I never had a pet as a child,” Harry argues, waving a bee out of Teddy's face. ”I'm pretty responsible.”

”You're self-sacrificing and protective.” Andromeda corrects. ”That's not-”

The crack of Apparation cuts her off and Harry looks over at the Ministry Official standing in front of Andromeda's back door. He doesn't seem to have noticed them.

”Yes?” Andromeda says, startling the Wizard slightly. He turns towards them and seems to hesitate for a moment before he walks over and gives a small nod towards Harry.

”Andromeda Tonks, born Black?” he asks Andromeda, handing her a ring with the Malfoy Family crest on it.

 

 


End file.
